THE Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LATRA) has instructed owners of buses for hire, commonly known as ‘special hire,’ to integrate their vehicles with its vehicle tracking system (VTS).

Salum Pazzy, the LATRA head of public relations and communications, said in a statement yesterday that it is a legal requirement for such buses to be linked up with the system.

LATRA has also ordered that drivers of such vehicles who have not yet registered for the driver identification button (i-button) to do so and connect to the system before January 12.

"Under Regulation 20(b) of the 2020 regulations for hire vehicles, special hire buses must be connected to the VTS," he said.

“The system enables the authority to identify the driver operating a specific vehicle, provided the driver is registered and using driver identification button.” 

Regulation 9(2) for driver certification and registration of commercial vehicle operators specifies the responsibility of identifying vehicles.

Drivers must use driver identification button with special hire buses being among those listed, he further noted, pointing at Regulation 9(3) as requiring that a driver issued with an identification button “must ensure its safety and is prohibited from transferring it to another person.”

He reminded drivers and owners of special hire buses to use the driver identification button correctly. “Drivers without the device are required to visit LATRA offices in their respective areas to register and connect to the system,” he specified.

To simplify the registration process, LATRA will facilitate the registration of driver identification buttons at selected roadside locations where buses typically stop, he said.

Equipping buses with VTS is meant to ensure that vehicles, particularly those travelling long distances, are closely monitored, especially concerning speed and driver behaviour, the statement added.